Questions! Questions.

[spikepipsqueak]

Ok, first world problem.

I like the idea of doing a lot of the UK by train. I get to look at the scenery and someone else is driving. I suspect it would work out a lot cheaper too and since I have no real "must see" items and have never been there, I think I could find interesting things no matter where I go.

On the other hand, hire car. Greater flexibility, and I have somewhere to store my suitcase while checking out a town or forest I don't intend staying in.

Can't decide.

Discuss?

 

[bilby]

Ok, first world problem.

I like the idea of doing a lot of the UK by train. I get to look at the scenery and someone else is driving. I suspect it would work out a lot cheaper too and since I have no real "must see" items and have never been there, I think I could find interesting things no matter where I go.

On the other hand, hire car. Greater flexibility, and I have somewhere to store my suitcase while checking out a town or forest I don't intend staying in.

Can't decide.

Discuss?

Pommy cars are generally woefully underpowered and even hire cars typically have a manual transmission - if you prefer to drive an automatic, you may need to jump through a few hoops to get one from a UK car rental place.

Fuel is eyewateringly expensive in the UK, though distances are obviously far shorter. Traffic is endemic, and is heavy pretty much everywhere, pretty much all the time. If you're used to driving in Australia, particularly rural Australia, it's astonishing that even remote country lanes in the UK have a lot of other motorists on them.

Train travel can be very nice, and very comfortable, if you avoid the peak times of the day and of the week (any travel a Friday, but particularly if it's the Friday of a long weekend, will be less comfortable; The mainline routes out of London to Scotland can also be pretty crowded midweek).

Fares vary hugely depending on when you want to travel (cheaper fares often imply less overcrowding) and how far in advance you book - a ticket to travel today will cost a LOT more than a ticket for the same trip in three months time.

If you know well in advance where and when you want to travel, you can often get a first class advance ticket for less than a standard class "turn up and go" fare. We did that for our travel on the East Coast Mainline (London Kings Cross to Edinburgh and on to Inverness, with a break in Leeds) and it was well worthwhile as we were travelling on New Years Eve, which meant that Standard Class was a sardine can. Even in First Class we had to chase some people out of our reserved seats.

Of our last two trips, one was a road trip covering a lot of ground in a rental car, and the other we did mostly by train; Both were a good experience. Our next trip will involve much less travelling around, and we plan to do it by public transport, mostly train - driving around would be a bit of a busman's holiday for me.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

I prefer a manual, but you make a good point about petrol.

I am learning, from here and IRL, the value of picking other's brains.

Also, the internet turns out to be a very good friend.

Last night a friend mentioned lockers at train stations. After research, I find that won't work so well for me. Turns out they're only in major cities. But there is a thing called Stasher which made my ears prick up.

You can dump your case at a hotel, even if you're not staying there, for a reasonable fee.

It's been interesting to note that e.g. Paddington-Oxford, 34 pounds. Marylebone-Oxford 6.

I also laughed to see that a Eurail pass Barcelona-Girone, 195 Euros. Extend that to Lyon. 295. Train ticket, 14. Girone to Lyon 38.

I will absolutely need a phone just for the information, and making bookings as I get around.

Did I mention that We Will Rock You and The Book of Mormon, both of which I didn't get to see at home, were playing in London? Seasons ending about 3 weeks before I get there? Grrrrrr.



Thanks bilby.

 

[Toni]

I realize I don't know spikepipsqueak's travel plans but I did find this which talks about easy travel in California:

How to navigate California

Cruising the highways in a rental isn't the only way to get around in California.

www.lonelyplanet.com

I think it will be somewhat impossible to avoid tourists in California however you travel. I do want to add my cautions about taking busses for travel along the coast. It isn't that you will likely encounter the 'unwashed' but you are more likely to encounter people who are looking for easy pickings as marks. Be careful! Trains are usually safer. It has been years since I did distance traveling via Greyhound, but even all those years ago, some of the other passengers were really unpleasant people. My daughter more recently has indicated that she won't do distance on busses anymore, either.

Just be careful! and have a ton of fun! Let us know all about your trip!

And thank you to everyone who responded. It will be a little while longer before I do international travel but I really appreciate your tips. I barely make it into Canada....

 

[Politesse]

Most of California is not Trump country anyway. I do t think you’ll have a problem. If you should happen to see someone wearing something Trump related, just talk to other people who will be charmed by your accent even before they get to see your personality. Let the idiots sit by themselves. Honestly, most Americans don’t talk about politics with strangers. Or friends, if they want to keep them.

A lot of California is Trump country actually, but not the parts tourists ever go to, or that you could travel by train to (trains are "liberal").

In any case, I've never heard of anyone roughing up a tourist over politics. Most people here avoid talking politics at all if they can help it.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

Most of California is not Trump country anyway. I do t think you’ll have a problem. If you should happen to see someone wearing something Trump related, just talk to other people who will be charmed by your accent even before they get to see your personality. Let the idiots sit by themselves. Honestly, most Americans don’t talk about politics with strangers. Or friends, if they want to keep them.

A lot of California is Trump country actually, but not the parts tourists ever go to, or that you could travel by train to (trains are "liberal").

In any case, I've never heard of anyone roughing up a tourist over politics. Most people here avoid talking politics at all if they can help it.

You have no idea how annoying I can be.

Not buying it yet, but investigating flights from Dublin to Melb.

2 things:

1. Are you allowed to leave an airport during a, say, 10 hour stopover?
2. Are you wise to leave the airport in an Asian country where the only thing you know how to say is "Thank you."?

I wouldn't even be able to communicate "City centre please" to the cabbie.

You guys are a trove of insights. I can't thank you enough.

 

[Rhea]

In most airports you are welcome to leave - you just need to go through security again when you return. Many airports have lockers where you can leave your luggage so you don’t have to carry it around. Exceptions might be around having checked luggage that you are not taking with you. You can check with your airline.

Most places I’ve been in Asia (Japan, China, Korea) had plenty of english-speaking people at international airports. BUt I would plan it in advance and hire a driver to meet you and take you around. The price usually feel reasonable to western tourists, and you’ll save time and have a little more security from grifters.

Which area are you thinking of sightseeing?

 

[bilby]

The details vary from country to country, but most Asian transit nations between Australia and Europe have a short term tourist visa or short term visa exemption to allow tourists to enter the country for a few days or even weeks while in transit.

Back in the mid '90s I transited through Manilla, and ran into some minor issues there because the passport controller in the arrivals area didn't stamp my passport (and I didn't know he was meant to). When I left two days later, the departures official was most irate about this irregularity, (which I believe was a deliberate attempt to get me to offer him a bribe); At that time, tourists were exempt from paying departure tax if they had been in the Philippines for less than a week, and he was adamant that only the non-existent arrival stamp would be accepted as evidence of the length of my stay, despite my being able to produce my airline tickets that showed which flight I arrived on.

It transpired that the departure tax was an utterly tiny sum of money - If I recall correctly it was a bit less than three pesos, worth about 12c Australian - so I just paid it. I was threatened with arrest on suspicion of smuggling, because I had no proof of my port of arrival, but when a pat-down revealed that I had only an Australian five dollar bill and a handful of peso coins in cash on my person, and was therefore unable to pay a substantial bribe, that suggestion was quietly dropped.

 

[gmbteach]

Bring multiple credit cards--losing access to a card can be quite a headache! Mostly use credit cards but bring some cash for odds and ends as you will occasionally hit situations where credit cards won't work. As someone who ventures into the wilderness this is more common for me--fee stations at lesser places often can't take cards.

We have three different banks which we use for different things, and one of those banks has a visa debit card, as well as two credit cards. Our visa debit card was skimmed on pretty much our first day in London, and when we cancelled it, thankfully we had access to funds from elsewhere. It might be worth opening an account at another bank, even for just a short while, so that you are covered.

 

[gmbteach]

Cough cough: Americans can be tourists in California as well as Aussies. Heck, CALIFORNIANS go on wine country tours.

I think it's great that you want to talk to 'real' people. I haven't been to California and haven't traveled on a Greyhound bus since my grandfather died and the guy sitting in the seat ahead of me kept hitting on me. Oh, I've taken plenty of public transport: Subways in Wash. DC, Boston and the light rail in Chicago and I've taken commuter busses and I've even taken tourist busses since then. Just not in California. But do ask your son who will have a much better idea about who you are likely to encounter on commercial bus travel. And also do check about whether you can get off and on commercial travel busses. That was what first got my attention about what hoped for. There is no doubt you will encounter other tourists, at least some of which will be tacky Americans, however you travel.

I have nothing against "tacky Americans". Even if I find myself talking to other tourists, they are unlikely to be people that I have shared a culture with since birth. I'm sure I'll talk to lots of Americans during the cruise component of the trip, but this 120 odd miles might be my only chance to check out some of the terrain and some of the non tourists. Having said that, TV and Credit Cards has pretty much sold me on the train.

I'll tell you my secret fear, and I am only partially joking. That I would let my politics slip, maybe even having so little self control as to be unable to stop myself refuting someone's positive image of Trump - and get myself shot. Or punched.

I suspect I've been exposed to the worst of American news by my habitation of this place, but it's an issue I wouldn't even have to consider at home, and I suspect may be on the edges of your warnings.

(I would bet money that my son has never seen much of the inside of American public transport. Between his car, bike and plane he has most distances covered.)

I don't know if this is relevant today, but I took a bus trip when I was in my 20s when I was too poor to fly, from San Antonio, Texas to New York City, so I could visit my parents. It was one of the most horrible experiences of my life, other than being bitten by a rattle snake and things like that. The trip took over 48 hours and by the time we reached our destination, the bus was filthy. At one point, I found myself sleeping with my head on the shoulder of a strange man. I was traveling with my 3 year old son, and one good thing was that I looked after a 7 year old boy who was traveling by himself to visit his grandparents. Of course, that never happens these days, but it did help to have an older child play with my little boy. Plus, I think it helped him feel better being around a protective adult. At one point we were stuck for over 4 hours in St. Louis, Missouri, but we couldn't leave the staton as it was located in a very high crime neighborhood. I traveled by Greyhound. Do people even take long bus trips that like anymore? Maybe a train trip would be better.

I took public buses throughout my childhood, including with my teenage girlfriends to visit the World's Fair in 1964 in NYCity. Those short trips were fine, but taking a long trip on a bus is something I decided I would never do again after that experience in the early 70s. I never minded taking the subway in New York either, but I'm not sure I'd feel safe doing that these days, due to all the crimes and crazy people pushing passengers on the track in front of an oncoming train.

I wonder how much I can derail my own thread?

We didn't have a car when I was a kid. We went everywhere by public transport. When I was 14 we moved from a working/middle class suburb to an inner city one with a very rough reputation (Collingwood, for those that means anything to.) I wanted to stay with my old Guide Company, so once a week I took the train back, returning around 10.30pm, alone and completely at ease. Never once had cause to regret it. (Except for the time there was a locust plague and I had to commit multiple murders just to cross Punt Rd over the carpet of insects.) Even when there were drunks on the train I never felt threatened. If my mother thought it was a bad idea she never mentioned it.

Melbourne is a spread out city. Fast forward 30 years and you'd be housebound without a car. The only time my son, growing up, saw the inside of a train was going to the city if I didn't want to worry about parking. But I somewhat miss those old days. Reading while someone else does the driving. Getting a little exercise at either end of the journey. I have no idea if it would be so stress free now, 50 years later.

The planning of this trip may turn out to be more fun than the trip itself. I want to thank everyone and fully intend picking your brains as questions arise.

PLANNING is definitely fun. I adored planning our first and second trips, and some of our third trip back to the UK. this trip, we only have plans to get to London, then north to Yorkshire, back to London and home. we are only there for 2 weeks, so no time for gallivanting around the place. But I would so love to book another 1-2 month trip where we hire a car and drive everywhere. This time we will get an automatic so I can do some of the driving.

 

[gmbteach]

From what I can tell it's $20 for 24hrs international roaming. Cuts off 24 hrs after you first use it. I will use that maybe 3 times while I'm away. Don't plan to ring anyone unless for emergencies but don't want to use internet cafes for banking. I will be in about 20 countries, only 9 for more than 24 hours. Too many SIM cards.

I booked the Irish bit last night. Currently gasping because travel insurance is $1700.

When we use our credit card for travel, insurance is automatically applied.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

You have no idea how annoying I can be.

Not buying it yet, but investigating flights from Dublin to Melb.

2 things:

1. Are you allowed to leave an airport during a, say, 10 hour stopover?
2. Are you wise to leave the airport in an Asian country where the only thing you know how to say is "Thank you."?

I wouldn't even be able to communicate "City centre please" to the cabbie.

You guys are a trove of insights. I can't thank you enough.

What country are you talking about?

Note that a 10 hour stopover is not going to give you much time to see anywhere. Especially with a big language barrier.

Not being able to say "city center please" would not stop me from going somewhere. I've done it (with my parents) many times and never had any big issues with it--and note that was before we had translators in our pockets.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

In most airports you are welcome to leave - you just need to go through security again when you return. Many airports have lockers where you can leave your luggage so you don’t have to carry it around. Exceptions might be around having checked luggage that you are not taking with you. You can check with your airline.

Most places I’ve been in Asia (Japan, China, Korea) had plenty of english-speaking people at international airports. BUt I would plan it in advance and hire a driver to meet you and take you around. The price usually feel reasonable to western tourists, and you’ll save time and have a little more security from grifters.

Which area are you thinking of sightseeing?

Note: While people of most nationalities can transit most major cities in China without a visa if you have a 10 hour connection you will not be allowed to leave the airport in such a transit. If you actually want to see the city make sure the transit exceeds 24 hours--in most situations where you can do it you can do it for 6 days. One city only, though--both flights must be international and the outbound leg must go to a different country than the inbound leg came from. Make sure to verify all the details before attempting this!! If your flight originates in Podunk, Iowa or the like allow plenty of extra time at your originating airport as there have been denied boarding incidents involving idiots who are certain that you need a visa for China and won't look it up, or won't look it up correctly. (Los Angeles -> Shanghai [5 days] -> Tokyo [4 hours] -> Los Angeles is a legal routing as China simply sees the Los Angeles -> Shanghai [5 days] -> Tokyo part and doesn't care about the third flight segment. You have to enter it into Timatic as a flight to Tokyo with a stop in Shanghai, though.)

 

[spikepipsqueak]

Which area are you thinking of sightseeing?

This is a trip from Dublin-Melbourne, laying over in Amsterdam and Xiansomething. It's the international airport of Fujian province, can't spell it, offhand.

I plan to have a very good book and a large appetite so I could likely fill 10 hours in the airport, if I have to. I understand most airports have shower facilities. I'll be needing those by that point.

I like your idea of hiring a driver, but have no idea where to start. The internet will be my friend as I investigate.

From what I can tell it's $20 for 24hrs international roaming. Cuts off 24 hrs after you first use it. I will use that maybe 3 times while I'm away. Don't plan to ring anyone unless for emergencies but don't want to use internet cafes for banking. I will be in about 20 countries, only 9 for more than 24 hours. Too many SIM cards.

I booked the Irish bit last night. Currently gasping because travel insurance is $1700.

When we use our credit card for travel, insurance is automatically applied.

My bank has a card that does that, but not my card. To apply for the card that does that I would need to earn more than I do. They don't take into account 40 years of trouble-free association.

I tried with the Bendigo but they wouldn't give me a card either, despite being able to show them the funds to cover everything.

That ship has sailed now, since I've bought all the content that intend to pre-purchase.

 

[Politesse]

Xiansomething

Xiamen.

 

[bilby]

Xiansomething

Xiamen.

Gesundheit.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Which area are you thinking of sightseeing?

This is a trip from Dublin-Melbourne, laying over in Amsterdam and Xiansomething. It's the international airport of Fujian province, can't spell it, offhand.

I plan to have a very good book and a large appetite so I could likely fill 10 hours in the airport, if I have to. I understand most airports have shower facilities. I'll be needing those by that point.

I like your idea of hiring a driver, but have no idea where to start. The internet will be my friend as I investigate.

Don't bother unless you actually have a visa--for a 10 hour connect on a transit without visa you won't be leaving the airport.

 

[Rhea]

I like your idea of hiring a driver, but have no idea where to start

You might try a Hotel Concierge. Even if yiu aren’t staying there, they may recommend a name - create good will with you.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

From what Loren said it would be silly to try.

The "good book and 2 meals" plan is also acceptable.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

Just had a n interesting experience.

I have come across 2 websites where you apply for permission to enter the US. One charges $295, one, $21.

Word to the wise, the cheaper one is the actual US gov't.